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7 snowstorms that crippled the East Coast

The region's extreme freezes

It's hard to put weather in perspective. One region’s "Snowpocalypse” can be another part of the country’s everyday winter weather. Snowstorms that hit the East Coast are often highly publicized, but some storms in this densely populated region are more memorable than others — case in point: January 2016's Winter Storm Jonas, pictured here.

While making this list, we considered total snowfall and the area the storm covered, as well as other factors, like prolonged low temperatures and the population affected.

The biggest snowstorms are the ones that shut down entire swaths of an area — the ones that close airports, shutter businesses and keep the kids at home from school, often for days (or weeks) on end.

Without further ado, here are seven of the biggest snowstorms to hit the East Coast.

(Editor's note: This story has been updated since it was originally published in 2011.)

The region's extreme freezes

It's hard to put weather in perspective. One region’s "Snowpocalypse” can be another part of the country’s everyday winter weather. Snowstorms that hit the East Coast are often highly publicized, but some storms in this densely populated region are more memorable than others — case in point: January 2016's Winter Storm Jonas, pictured here.

While making this list, we considered total snowfall and the area the storm covered, as well as other factors, like prolonged low temperatures and the population affected.

The biggest snowstorms are the ones that shut down entire swaths of an area — the ones that close airports, shutter businesses and keep the kids at home from school, often for days (or weeks) on end.

Without further ado, here are seven of the biggest snowstorms to hit the East Coast.

(Editor's note: This story has been updated since it was originally published in 2011.)